Archive for the ‘intentionally blank’ Category

After 12 years of posting thoughts, brain farts, ideas, links, editorials and other stuff on this blog, I have decided to no longer provide updates on weidemannia.

Been there. Done that.

As you know, I had closed my social networking sites on MySpace, Facebook, Classmates, Linked In and many others I have since forgotten, because the initial thrill the Internet provided as a creative environment for me has turned into more of a chore. I am proud to say I have never “tweeted” and have no interest in the tweets of others. I just don’t care.

Perhaps, the straw that broke this old camel’s back was receiving over 25,000 spam-generated “gee this blog looks great – keep up the good work” comments posted on my articles – even though I had completely disabled commenting. I have no idea why they showed up, and 1 and 1 couldn’t explain it either – but based on the nature of the comments received, I believe some lonely Polish programmers who feel their actions of disturbance annoyance and are important to the betterment of the planet. Anyway, I am in the process of deleting all comments.

BUT, don’t be forlorn.

I am maintaining my epiclectic Flickr account, and will continue to upload images and photos there. Their method of preventing spam and blocking posters – when rarely required – is much less painful.

The images on the right will continue to link to my updates for those of you who happen to land here first for some reason.

Honestly, I expect no one to actually read this far.

If you do, let me ask you to take a moment and reflect on what you are doing with your time, and if it could be better spent by stepping away from the computer, laptop, smartphone and iPad, and taking a long walk in the woods.

On Wednesday, August 10, my son, Justin, passed away. No parent can ever prepare for this unexpected and tragic event.

Needless to say, it came as a shock to everyone, especially his true love Shardree, his brothers David and Brian, his mother and I and anyone who he had ever known. The impact of his short life was reflected by the over 250 friends and loved ones attending his memorial service in Corona, on Saturday, August 20.

A reminder of the importance of staying close to your loved ones, and living every day to the fullest. Hug your kids – often.

When the conversation turns to more general subjects, Hunter proves to be a well-informed and passionate observer of American politics. Speaking of commentators from the extreme right, such as the broadcaster Glenn Beck, he says: “Their technique is to try to dazzle you with minute detail. I have a more simple view: I am not interested in your facts and figures; you are a twat. Beck makes a complete tool of himself, then dismisses his critics as elitists. I am no elitist. I scored 125 on the IQ test. I consider myself about average. But I know Glenn Beck is an idiot. Obama,” he adds, sounding like a man who is channelling the spirit of his left-wing father, “is a decent man and that’s why he is such a threat to them: because he is a decent man.”

It is with a heavy heart I must let my web friends know I will no longer be able to share my photos or album covers. Due to unexpected circumstances I will be closing my account. I have enjoyed every one of your comments and will miss your smiling avatars.

Noticing more floaters in the right eye than usual, went to the ophthalmologist today to have him check things out. Well, it seems the old epiclectic has a detached retina, and will be going under the laser-knife tonight. I’m not too concerned, but wanted to give you guys a heads-up if you see me go pirate on you.

UPDATE – 2/16/11

Surgery took about an hour last night, and I have no pain – now. But not having a general and using a local anesthetic – and being somewhat awake – made me keenly aware of the needles poking and prodding into the back of the eye. I have had more pleasant experiences in my life. ;-)

You can tell from what follows, this isn’t a DIY home operation you take care of in front of the mirror. For those that love the technical descriptions of this sort of thing, I had two retinal tears caused by shrinking vitreous (attributed to aging, in my case), allowing vitrious fluid to pool beneath the sensory retina and lift if off the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer.

This is the most common type of detachment. So after knocking me out briefly, numbing the eyeball, they used cryotherapy (freezing) where the instrument is placed on the outside of the eye at the tear, bonding the tissue together. This was followed by a pneumatic retinoplexy where the eye is filled with a gas bubble, which expands and pushes the retina back into place. Lastly, a scleral buckle (a silicon rubber band) was placed around the eye and tightened to press the eye wall against the retina. Top this off with a patch over the eye which is to remain for a few days. Over time the gas bubble is absorbed by the body.

Eye still bandaged so don’t know how it works, yet. But you can tell from my posting, I still am able to operate with the left one.

I have no intention of joining or participating in social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked In, Plaxo, Classmates, MyLife, etc. They tend to suck life out of the process of making personal connections with people, and may tend to do more harm than good. So, any accounts which may have been created by me in the past should be considered dead and inactive. I do not have a desire to even go in and hunt them down to delete them, so there.

That said, I will continue posting to the weidemannia blog, which you are currently reading. After all, I’ve been doing this for over 10 years now, and its part of my DNA. I also will continue to maintain my “epiclectic” web-presence related to vinyl records and album cover art.

Please don’t interpret this as me trying to distance myself from friends and family. In fact, its an attempt to consciously remove the obsessive and impersonal distractions brought about by Internet-enabled instant access to anyone.

If you know me, send me an email, or give me a call. Don’t be surprised if you might find me calling you unexpectedly without any purpose other than letting you know I’m still here and care.

The grid should be at about the same distance from your eyes that any other reading material would be.

Cover one eye, then focus on the dot in the center.

* Do any of the lines look wavy, blurred or distorted? (All lines should be straight, all intersections should form right angles and all the squares should be the same size.)
* Are there any missing areas or dark areas in the grid?
* Can you see all corners and sides of the grid?
* Don’t forget to test both eyes.

VERY IMPORTANT: Report any irregularity to your eye doctor immediately.

In loving memory of Catherine Romaine, who quietly passed away this morning at home after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. Our condolences and prayers are with Skot and the family during this sad time of loss.

71 years later, I believe its time has finally arrived. General Motors, take note. Put a hybrid engine in this sucker, sell it for under $10,000 and you just might have a chance of pumping energy back into the American automobile industry.

Brian M. Weidemann and Audrey Dawn (Brimaxian Odds) perform a cover version of Guster’s song “Demons” on an Epiphone Casino hollowbody electric guitar and a Korg Triton LE-88 piano, complete with vocal harmonies in pretty much the original recorded arrangement. Recorded May 3, 2009 in the Worldbri Productions Studio, Costa Mesa, CA.

First of many recently discovered,, never-before seen, long-lost personal slides and photos taken between the late 20’s and mid 60’s. These have been hidden away in my mom’s storage space, and I’m now in the process of scanning them for her.

Great news! Brian and Audrey spent the day at our place today, and shared the news they are engaged. The big day is set for this coming November 7th. First one of my three sons to tie the knot, and they are a beautiful and happy pair. We celebrated with champagne, and a pool-side concert with each of them giving my new Fender a workout.

In doing my part to put money back into circulation, and help save our country’s spirit and economic well being, I decided there was absolutely no reason to put off the idea any longer of pursuing my dream and becoming a rock-n-roll legend in my own mind. And every rock diety needs a guitar.

So, I stopped by the local Guitar Center, and picked up this beautiful Fender acoustic-electro guitar. Took advantage of a 20% off coupon I had laying around, and made a killing – at least I think I made a great deal.

As you probably have guessed, I love listening to music. But I haven’t played a guitar over 20 years, and am counting on my musical sons to humor the old man and give me encouragement. Its not that I am completely talentless, since I did play the accordion in elementary school.

Decided it was time to invest in a flatscreen, and picked up this 46″ 120hZ Toshiba LCD at Costco for the right price. Popped it into the Scion and had it up and running within an hour. Added a Sony Home Theater system with wireless rear speakers and it has changed the way we watch movies. TV programming still sucks for the most part, but the HD channels provide an eye-opening look at the world.

And rather than shit-can the old Broyhill Fontana entertainment center, I removed the doors, whipped out the old circular saw, and cut it down to size. Very pleased with the results, and encourage more of you out there to do the same. Saved a crapload of money, which financed the addition of the home theater system.

Sorry, Regal Cinemas. You’ve frozen our asses for the last time. Watching movies in the comfort of our home, in our underwear, and eating cheap popcorn.

Came across this fantastic collection of images posted by a very creative guy on Flickr. Celebrities in the style of Bratz. Pretty nifty stuff, and giving me some great ideas for future Photoshop experimentations…

Browsing the Barnes and Noble last week, I came across a must-have resource for my bookshelves. Titled 1000 Pin-Up Girls, and published by Taschen, it is a wonderful collection of magazine covers, pictorials and advertisements from magazines such as Beauty Parade, Eyeful, Titter, Wink, Whisper and Flirt. (Maybe its me, but the last five magazine titles sound like Web 2.0 applications).

Every once and a while, I will be scanning and posting some of the images to my epiclectic Flickr account. In particular, you’ll find the hot girls with expressions such as this in the Ooooo Face group.

My attempt to give a warmer feeling to this beautiful girl’s album cover. Tried a few things with filters and masks and liked how it came out. Think I might start creating treatments of other album covers.

If you don’t remember Martika, you might remember the kid on the TV show Kids Incorporated that ran in the early 80’s. Found this on Youtube and it brings back a grin.

I also discovered that Stacy Ferguson also appeared on a few episodes of Kids Incorporated. She’s the little blonde on the right in this version of “Cool Places”. Stacy is now more commonly known as Fergie, for you older farts out there that might not have known.

Say “hasta luigi” to OJ for a few years with his 15 year sentencing for armed robbery and attempted kidnapping in his “I want my stuff back” escapade. I loved the judge’s comments that she couldn’t understand if OJ’s original attitude when first indicted was arrogance or stupidity – and hence determined it was both.

Forget retribution for what went on in the past. Now, he’s off the streets and preparing to begin dropping his soap in the shower.

weidemannia.com is undergoing a weight reduction program. Over the coming weeks, you will find that things look a bit different. All of my various blogs are merged into a single diatribe – working title: weidemannia one. Most of the early experimental pages will be removed from the web, leaving their cached remains behind for the persistent search engines to continually exhume from their final resting places.

Hi friends, welcome to Custom Paper Toys! This is home for all the little paper creatures I make. There is a list over to the right of all my free paper toys you can download and have for your very own. I’ll post a new free Paper Toy of the Month every month. I’ll also be posting a stray paper toy here and there as well as my paper toy commissions and collaborations.

PAPER TO THE PEOPLE!”

I found this site as a link from Flickr and really liked the idea that you don’t need batteries, GPS or liquid crystals to entertain yourself . Wishing Matt much success.

Well, it was just a matter of time before the dreamsquashers arrived. I received this sad piece of information today – GOOD FRIDAY. I apologize for all the smiles and happiness I will no longer be able to deliver to viewers of the long-lost video clip of Milton.

YouTube Broadcast Yourself

Dear Member:

This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by Viacom International Inc. claiming that this material is infringing:

Milton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZon9qf2NKA

Please Note: Repeat incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your account and all videos uploaded to that account. In order to prevent this from happening, please delete any videos to which you do not own the rights, and refrain from uploading additional videos that infringe on the copyrights of others. For more information about YouTube’s copyright policy, please read the Copyright Tips guide.

If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.

Be aware that there may be adverse legal consequences in your country if you make a false or bad faith allegation of copyright infringement by using this process.

The thing I love about the Internet is those unplanned, non-sequiter journeys that take you places you never knew existed, and weren’t expecting.

For example, today while happily working in Dreamweaver, I decided to respond to the beg screen, and downloaded a trial version of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Developer Toolbox. Part of the sign-up included subscribing to the Adobe Edge newsletter. After receiving my “welcome email” from them, I clicked the link to check it out.

Well, to make a long story short, I came across to a link to the HBO Voyeur – lets say “experience”. You might want to add this to your list of “interesting sites”.

I had never heard of this guy until I stumbled across his name while searching the web. If you have never heard of Gary Spivey, you might enjoy learning more about this guy. Here’s a brief bio from his website:

Gary Spivey is world-renowned for his psychic talent, uncanny ability to predict future catastrophic events (its no wonder that people all over the world gave him the nickname ‘The Modern Day Nostradamus’), his gift to communicate with those who have crossed over to the other side and for his amazing healing energy. Gary is well known for his genuine down home style and jovial personality. He lectures, teaches and councils people worldwide.

“Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.”

ABC – Penningtons proven himself to be a pro at public apologies. Hes already churned out the obligatory Im sorry to, well, basically everyone. He admitted he made a mistake, called it a wake-up call and expressed his thankfulness that no one was hurt. He went on, I also want to apologize to my fans, ABC Television and my design team for my lapse in judgment and the embarrassment I have caused.”

HBO – In a message sent by email to all HBO employees at about 3:45 p.m., Mr. Albrecht said he was deeply sorry for what occurred in Las Vegas this weekend and that it represented a wake-up call to me of a weakness I thought I had overcome long ago.

COMEDY – Mel Gibson ‘s DUI arrest was a “big wake-up call” for Robin Williams , the funnyman tells Access Hollywood in an interview scheduled to air Monday. “If you’re violating your standards faster than you can lower them, time to go away,” he said. Williams, 55, announced that he was seeking treatment for alcoholism less than two weeks after Gibson’s high-profile arrest in late July. “Well, if (rehab) was good enough for him, I’ll go,” Williams said. “I just think it was kind of like, well, he’s in, let’s go now.” Williams said he had been sober for 20 years when he started drinking again.

Bottom line: If you ask me, and no one has, there is a huge difference between receiving a “wake up call”, and dragging your sorry ass out of bed, into the shower and changing your habits for good. I suggest we all stop using this trite phrase and keep it real… How about something a bit more sincere, like “I fucked up and got caught and have to pay the price for my actions.”That would work for me.

In case you were wondering, I haven’t said or done anything requiring an apology, but its obvious to me, that the easiest way to get a lot of attention in the media is to come out publicly and apologize for your behavior.

Just discovered this site, and it seems like it could be one of the emerging versions of the new consumer-programmed interactive TV replacement for traditional network programming. Plan to join and explore it a bit. Posted here to assist my feeble brain.

With absolutely NO previous experience at doing this, in slightly less than 2 days, I have successfully installed and configured a PostNuke 0.7.6 CMS system on my 1&1 Linux server, installed, integrated and configured a PNphpBB2 v1.2i bulletin board system, registered a new domain name, and have begun loading content for an anticipated site launch on Monday evening.

When it is ready to go live there will be a link on my homepage, but its a members only site so if you are lucky, I might release a few screen shots once its up and running.

You say you’re tired of the inane stories of blonde, Hollywood bimbos? Then check out this interesting little diversion if you are looking for some meat with your potatoes.

Heads Found In Farmer’s FreezerPOLICE searching the home of a Canadian pig farmer found the severed heads, hands and feet of two women hidden in a freezer, a court was told today at the start of one of the world’s most grisly murder trials.

“In each case the head had been cut in two vertically,” prosecutor Derrill Prevett told the court at the start of the trial of Robert William Pickton, who has been accused of the murders of 26 women in Canada’s worst serial killings. With the skulls were the left and right hands and the front part of the left and right feet, Mr Prevett said. The body parts were found inside two buckets in two freezers in the workshop of Pickton’s farm in Port Coquitlam, 50km outside western Vancouver.

Methinks Robert may be watching a bit too much cable programming, and believes Showtime’s Dexter to be a new reality show… Yikes.

Joost is a new way to watch TV, free of the schedules and restrictions that come with traditional television. Combining the best of TV with the best of the internet, Joost gives you more control and freedom than ever before – control over what you watch, and freedom to watch it whenever you like. We’re providing a platform for the best television content on the planet – a platform that will bring you the biggest and best shows from the TV studios, as well as the specialist programs created by professionals and enthusiasts. It’s all overlaid with a raft of nifty features that help you find the shows you love, watch and chat with friends, and even create your own TV channels.

Pleading innocent to two misdemeanor counts of drunken driving in her September 6 arrest in Los Angeles, the 25-year-old Simple Life star’s defense counsel Shawn Chapman Holley told the Los Angeles Superior Court that Hilton was looking to pick up a burger from an In-N-Out restaurant when she was apprehended by the police.

Please make the insanity stop. The audacity to think people like Paris and “her people” feel they can get away with this crap appalls me.

Anyway, shouldn’t she have been looking for a Carl’s Jr.? (Hey, Karcher Enterprises… sue the bitch for breach of contract.)

Get some extra money from grandma this Christmas? Don’t feel like buying something responsible with your pocket change? Do you wonder when is the right time to go shopping for vintage vinyl records at garage sales or thrift stores?

Susie Jefferson was today arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol officers took the 25-year-old daughter of mortgage broker Jack Jefferson into custody without incident after she failed an on-the-spot test in Burbank.

The girl’s black GMC Jimmy was stopped in the car pool lane of State Highway 134 when officers arrived.

Authorities said they did get emergency calls about a car going the wrong way on the freeway and the car matched the description of Jefferson’s.

Jefferson was booked in Glendale, tested for drugs and later released, a police spokesman said.

The results of the drug test have not been determined.

A message left with Jefferson’s mother was not immediately returned.

Burbank is 10 miles north-east of Los Angeles. Note: THIS IS NOT NEWS. At least it is not news when it happens to everyday common folk. So what makes changing the names turn it into an international news story? Add Nicole Richie to my IDGAS folder.